The match witnessed early and intense action, with both teams having promising opportunities to score within a span of 30 seconds. Sergio Santos of FC Cincinnati initiated the action, heading a shot at Cavalier goalkeeper Jeadine White. In response, Cavalier's Orlando Russell's shot at goal was thwarted by a save from FC Cincinnati custodian Roman Celetano.
Santos came close to breaking the deadlock in the 34th minute, striking the crossbar with a powerful shot. However, his persistence paid off just before half-time when Bret Halsey found Santos, who skillfully slotted home a shot, giving FC Cincinnati a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, Cavalier aimed to stage a comeback and tested the FC Cincinnati defense. A crucial moment occurred in the 64th minute, with Shaniel Thomas, the top scorer in the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup, seemed poised to take a shot but FC Cincinnati's Yuya Kubo intervened with a last-ditch slide tackle, clearing the imminent threat.
Determined to further assert their dominance, FC Cincinnati sought a second goal and they came close in the 82nd minute when Pavel Bucha unleashed a volley from a corner kick that grazed the crossbar.
The coveted second goal materialized for FC Cincinnati in the 87th minute, orchestrated by a slick back heel from Arquimides Ordonez. Malik Pinto sealed the deal with a powerful and well-placed right-footed finish, securing the 2-0 victory and putting Cavalier on the ropes as FC Cincinnati will carry this advantage into the next leg, aiming to advance further in the competition.
Clarendon College Coach Lenworth Hyde, who played for CC back in the 1970s and was a member of their all-conquering 1977 side, said he has designs on winning the Champions Cup next season.
“We definitely want to win the Champions Cup. That is one of the aims. It has been eluding us two seasons now so we will try at it again this season,” he told Sportsmax.TV Wednesday during the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) SBF Presentation Ceremony where Clarendon College was presented with the DaCosta Cup and the Olivier Shield.
He said his team learnt a valuable lesson in the Champions Cup final against Kingston College last season. CC was outplayed and subsequently lost 1-0 to Ludlow Bernard’s outstanding Kingston College side at the National Stadium in Kingston.
“We went in thinking we had already won the match. We didn’t approach it right. We were lackadaisical and KC really came out with fire. We tried to quell it but we didn’t score on the day. I must lift my hat to the KC team.”
Looking ahead to the new season, Hyde said he has retained a nucleus of players that should see them successfully defending their titles.
“We have to continue working hard. We have the material. We have a good set of youngsters 14 and 16 years old. We have a good cadre of players and that is what we love. When you have talented players it is just my duty to guide them in the right direction and keep them disciplined,” said Hyde said only lost five players from his almost all-conquering squad from last season.
Having won the Olivier Shield over Jamaica College thus breaking the urban schools’ hold after more than a decade, Hyde said he takes special pride in being able to bring the trophy back to rural Jamaica.
“When I used to play we were on top. We used to beat the town teams. That is our aim right now and that motivates me to show that football is not only in Kingston alone, but it’s also all over.”
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January 5th is the date schoolboy football fans will circle as defending champions Kingston College will begin their defence of their crown against Manning’s School at STETHS in a 3:00pm fixture.
At the same venue at 1:00pm, STATHS will do battle with Dinthill Technical.
Stadium East will host the other two quarterfinal matches on the day, with Charlie Smith locking horns with Clarendon College at 1:00pm and Jamaica College squaring off against Garvey Maceo at 3:00pm.
The winners will advance to the semi-finals to be played on Saturday, January 8th at either Stadium East or the National Stadium with the final scheduled to be played on January 15th.
Members of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), principals, members of JFF staff, and members of the media were on hand to see the presentation of plaques to the schools that won trophies in the recently concluded schoolboy football season and FIFA referee badges to the new crop of FIFA referees.
“As I congratulate these schools, I want to also extend congratulations to the staff members and principals because if they didn’t support these programs, the schools wouldn’t be doing very well,” said JFF president Michael Ricketts while addressing the gathering.
“Once again, I want to say a huge congratulations. I’m just absolutely excited at the prospects that I’m seeing after not playing for such a long time and the quality of play, I think, was at a premium,” he added.
President of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) Christopher Samuda also commented on the importance of ceremonies like these to highlight the outstanding performances of individuals while they are with us.
“We have a habit of recognizing people when they pass on, or when they have transitioned to another career. On behalf of the Jamaica Olympic Association, we want to congratulate the Jamaica Football Federation and all its stakeholders. This an event that should not perish and I have every conviction that it won’t,” he said.
The schools recognized were Manning Cup and Olivier Shield winners Kingston College, Walker Cup winners St. Catherine High, ISSA Champions Cup winners Clarendon College, DaCosta Cup winners Garvey Maceo High School and Ben Francis Cup winners Edwin Allen.
The referees awarded were Melvin Reid, Jermaine Yee Sing, Damian Williams, Richard Washington, Steffon Dewar, Neressa Goldson, Nicholas Anderson, Princess Brown, Ojay Duhaney, Odette Hamilton, Jassett Kerr, Oshane Nation, Damion Parchment and Stephanie Yee Sing. Eight of the 14 referees are currently on assignments overseas.
